In a recent post on this blog, I discussed the growth of stand up paddling since we first started posting on the sport three years ago. This year in particular has seen significant growth. The Hennessy Stand Up Paddle Race held this last Sunday along the North Shore of Maui is a prime example of the growth and evolution of the sport. Last year there were roughly 30 entrants while this year there were 69 participants in the stand up class. While all of the 2006 stand up entrants were lumped together, this year there were three classifications for the stand up paddle participants including unlimited with rudder, unlimited and then a stock under 12 foot category. In 2006, I was impressed that stand up paddlers were able to keep pace with current world champion paddle boarder Jamie Mitchell, this year’s stand up paddle winner Dave Kalama not only kept pace, but he ended up winning the event by a solid 6 plus minutes. The second place finisher also outpaced the paddle boarders. It will be interesting to see the sport continue to evolve and grow in the future.
Click Here for the Stand Up Results for the 2007 Hennessy International Paddleboard Championships.
